HEAT GAIN AND LOSS

CVNG 1008

Recap
Units
YOU MUST REMEMBER DIFFERENT UNITS to describe heat, or thermal
energy.
The standard SI unit is the joule (J)
Other units used are:
calorie 1 cal = 4.187 J
Kilowatt hour 1 kWH = 3.6 MJ
British Thermal Unit 1 BTU = 1.055 kJ
Power is a measure of the rate at which work is done
Power P = Heat energy (H) / time (t) 1 Joules/second = 1 Watt
Heat Transfer
Heat always flows from hot to cold until a balance is formed.
 Conduction – metal spoon in a cup of tea
 Convection – air above a radiator is heated and moves upwards
 Radiation – Radiation is when heat is emitted and absorbed from
energy in the infa-red spectrum of wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation.
For conduction to take place molecules with thermal energy pass it to the
neighbouring molecule.Free electons (electrons that are free to move away
from the atoms) also help this process. Metals have more free atoms than
plastics and so are better conductors.Cold Bridging
U-values & insulating materials
Heat losses and gains
Heat balance
Radiant temperature
Structural temperature profiles

Heat Loss/Gain based on hot/tropical climatic zones

Heat loss/gain occurs by a number of mechanisms including:

 Through the walls, floor and roof – With examples explain what
measures to be provided?
 Air change / draughts and ventilation. Explain is needed for what
purposes and how is implimentated ?
 External exposure – Explain why a terraced house loses far less
through the side walls that a detached house.
 Exposure to climate – Explain why wind chill blowing across a wall
will be less for a sheltered area.
 Draw figure showing heat gain for the tropical zone

Figure 1 Heat loss in cold climatic zone

Explain why the most controllable parameters over the heat gain and heat
loss from the building shell dependents upon:
1. Insulation
2. Area of the element considered
3. Temperature difference between the inside and outside.
Rate of heat loss is measured in j/s or watts.
Therefore:

Fabric heat loss Pf = U A t

U U-value
A Area
t Difference in temperature

U –values are the ‘thermal transmittance rates from the inside to the outside
of the building’.
All building will eventually lose heat – we are interested in how quickly this is
done so that we can replace the heat with a suitable heater.
U-values are measured in ‘how many joules are lost per second over a m 2
for a temperature change of 1 degree.’
or (j/s)/m2 K or W/m2 K

Building Regulations Approved Documents L1 and L2 give maximum U-

values:

W/m2 K
External Walls 0.35
Pitched Roof 0.16
Flat Roof 0.25
Windows,doors 2 Wood/uPVC
and rooflights
Windows,doors 2.2 Metal
and rooflights

If the transmittance of heat is greater than these values then the building will
not comply with Building Regs as:
 Rooms may be too cold for habitation
 Excessive fuel costs – wasted energy
Worked Activity
A room in a house is designed to have the maximum U-values and has an
external wall area of 30m2 to include 3m2 of double glazed window. Given
internal and external design temperatures of 22C and -2C find the heat
loss through the wall.
Worked Answer
Pf = U A t
Wall 27x0.35x24 =226.80
Window 3x2x24 =144.00
Total =370.8 W

Example 1
A cool store has a flat roof of 40m2 has two metal framed 1m2 rooflights. If
they are designed to have the maximum U-values find the heat gain for
external and internal design temperatures of 35C and 5C.

U-value calculation
Notes:
 We also need to consider the heat absorbed onto the internal surface
and the heat expelled on the external surface.
 The effect of motor is similar to brickwork and is therefore ignored
 Wall ties, d.p.m.’s, paint, wallpaper and other thin elements are usually
ignored.
 U-values are unlikely to be accurate due to inconsistencies in
construction and the varying effects of the sun, dampness and wind.
U-values are the reciprocal of the sum of thermal resistances:
U = 1/R
Internal Surface Resistances (Rsi) (m2K/W)
Walls - 0.123
Floors or ceilings for upward heat flow – 0.104
Floors or ceilings for downwards heat flow – 0.148
Roofs (flat or pitched) – 0.104

Surface Exposure
Sheltered Normal Severe
Wall – high emissivity 0.080 0.055 0.030
Wall – low emissivity 0.110 0.070 0.030
Roof – high emissivity 0.070 0.045 0.020
Roof – low emissivity 0.090 0.050 0.020
Floor – high emissivity 0.070 0.040 0.020
Airspace, unventilated 5mm 0.11
Airspace, unventilated >5mm 0.18
Ventilated loft space 0.11
 High emissivity is for all normal building materials including glass.
Low emissivity is for untreated metal, aluminium, galvanised steel and
specially-coated glass.

Material Density (kg/m3) Conductivity () (W/mK)

Brick inner leaf 1700 0.84
Brick outer leaf 1700 0.62
Ceramic tiles 2300 1.30
Concrete block (lightweight) 600 0.18
Concrete block (medium 1400 0.53
weight)
Gypsum Plaster (Lightweight) 600 0.16
Gypsum Plaster (Dense) 1300 0.57
Plasterboard 950 0.16
Plywood/particle board 650 0.14
Softwood board 500 0.13
Tiles clay 2000 1.00
Tiles concrete 2100 1.50
Bituminous felt (3 layers) 1700 0.500
Mineral wool quilt 12 0.042
Mineral wool slab 25 0.038
Expanded polystyrene 20 0.035
Phenolic foam board 30 0.025
Polyurethane board 30 0.025
Urea formaldehyde foam 10 0.040
Note: no worked example as the students have already covered these types
of calculations.

Activity 2
Consider the following external wall. Find the U-value.

102.5mm 100mm aerated From tables

brickwork concrete blocks Rint=0.104 m2K/W
Rext=0.055 m2K/W
13mm
lightweight
plaster
100mm mineral
wool slab

Material Thickness Conductivity T/C

(m) (W/mK) (m2K/W)
Internal Surface 0.123
Brick 0.1025 0.62 0.165
Insulation 0.100 0.038 2.632
Block 0.100 0.18 0.556
Plaster 0.013 0.16 0.081
External Surface 0.055
 Total 3.612
2
U = 1/3.612 = 0.277 W/m K
This is less than 0.35 therefore within Building Regulations.
Roof/Ceiling

2mm Felt
Air space – use R=0.11
Air space between tiles
and felt – R=0.11
100mm Mineral Wool Quilt

10mm Tiles
13mm Plaster board

From tables:
Rint=0.104 Rext=0.045
Material Thickness Conductivity T/C
(m) (W/mK) (m2K/W)
Internal Surface 0.104
Plasterboard 0.013 0.16 0.081
Insulation 0.1 0.042 2.381
Air space 0.11
Felt 0.002 0.5 0.004
Air space 0.11
Tiles 0.01 1.0 0.01
External Surface 0.045
Total 2.785

U = 1 / 2.785 = 0.359 W/m2 K Building Regs max=0.16 W/m2 K

Ventilation Loss
This is the loss of air warm air that is replaced by colder air that needs to be
heated.

The air is lost/replaced through

 Draughts
 Open windows
 Open doors
 Air bricks
 Loft space – needs to be ventilated.

This can be calculated from:

Pv = cv N V t / 3600 Pv = Rate of heat loss (W)
cv = volumetric specific heat capacity of air (j/m 3K)
N = Air changes per hour
V = Volume of the room (m3)
t = internal/external temp difference
The heat capacity does depend upon the temperature of the air but in practice
a constant value is used to simplify the equation to:

Pv = 0.33 N V t

The number of air changes per hour brings us to ‘comfort parameters’.

More air changes are needed where:
 There are more people - Oxygen levels
 Perfume shop - Odour
 Increased activity – gym - Oxygen/Odour

Typical comfort parameters

Type of building Design Temperature C Air changes per hour
Domestic – Living Room 21 1
Domestic – Bedroom 18 0.5
Domestic – Bathroom 22 0.5
Offices, general 20 1
Classrooms 18 2
Shops, large 18 0.5
Restaurants, bars 18 1

Activity 3

For a bedroom measuring 5x6x2m with an external design temperature of

-2C find the rate of heat loss from ventilation. Assume air changes as per
recommended values.

Answer Activity 3

Activity 4
A house has a floor area of 92m2 and a ceiling height of 2.5m. The average
inside air temperature is kept at 18C, the external temperature is 30C, the
average infiltration rate is 1.5 air changes per hour.
Calculate
a) Calculate the rate of ventilation heat loss
b) Calculate the cost of the heat energy lost during 24 hours if the above
conditions are maintained and replacement heat costs 50 cents per
megajoule.
Heat Gains

From:
 Lighting
 Solar radiation (direct – through windows, indirect – heats fabric)
 Cooking
 Hot water
 Electrical appliances
 People
 Radiators or heaters

Heat Balance

Fabric heat loss + Ventilation heat loss = solar energy + people/appliances + heating/cooling